The Houston Rockets executive unwittinglyexposed an issue that may have been too much forthe National Basketball Association: support forprotesters in Hong Kong, which infuriated China. Itwas quickly deleted.

　　这位火箭队的高管（莫雷小儿）无意中揭露了一个可能让NBA难以承受的问题：支持香港闹事者，这激怒了中国。虽然内容很快被删除了。

　　But the damage was done, and the NBA quicklymoved to smooth things over in a lucrative marketthat generates millions of dollars in revenue. Theleague said it was "regrettable" that many Chinese fans were offended by the comment.

　　但是伤害已经造成，NBA迅速采取行动，企图在这个利润巨大能制造数百万美元（不止吧？）的市场上平息事端。对于被（莫雷）那番言论冒犯的众多中国球迷，联盟感到十分“遗憾”。

　　Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Rockets and Morey's boss, publicly rebuked Morey but saidlater that the general manager's job was not in danger.

　　火箭老板，莫雷的雇主蒂尔曼.费尔蒂塔公开指责了莫雷，但随后表示他的球队经理工作不受影响。

　　Sponsors in China paused their deals with the Rockets, and the country's main broadcaster saidit would remove the team's games from its schedule. Two exhibition games scheduled for alow-level team affiliated with the Rockets were also canceled.

　　中国的赞助商暂停了与火箭队的合作，中国的主流媒体表示会将火箭队的比赛从日程安排中取消，原计划与火箭发展联盟球队的两场表演赛也被取消。

　　The league's statement, in turn, inflamed supporters of the Hong Kong protests and manyfans in the United States, where the protesters are generally seen as battling a repressivegovernment. Democratic and Republican politicians found agreement in calling the leaguegutless, accusing it of prioritizing money over human rights.

　　NBA的声明反过来又激怒了香港抗议活动的支持者和美国的许多球迷。在美国，抗议者通常被视为在与专制政府作战。民主党和共和党的政客们一致认为nba联盟过于软弱，指责nba将金钱置于人权之上。

　　The involvement of the Rockets is particularly troublesome for the NBA, given the franchise'slongtime status as among the most popular team in China. Yao Ming, considered the crownjewel of Chinese basketball, played for the Rockets from 2002 to 2011.

　　火箭队历来都是中国球迷最喜欢的球队之一，涉及到火箭队对NBA来讲尤其麻烦，中国篮球历史上最伟大的球员姚明，在2002到2011年之间曾为火箭队效力。

　　James Harden, a Rockets guard and one of the NBA's biggest stars, directly apologized toChinese fans on Monday.

　　火箭得分后卫，当今NBA最炽手可热的球星之一，詹姆斯哈登在周一向中国球迷道歉。

　　Joseph Tsai, the first Chinese owner of an NBA franchise, said in a statement late Sunday thatHong Kong was a "third-rail issue" in China, calling the efforts by protesters a "separatistmovement."

　　NBA首位华人老板蔡崇信周日晚间在一份声明中表示，香港是中国的“第三轨问题”（不允许触及的问题），称抗议者的努力是“分裂主义运动”。

　　Speaking ahead of a scheduled preseason game between the Rockets and Toronto Raptors inJapan, the NBA's commissioner, Adam Silver, acknowledged the fallout but said the leaguesupported Morey's right to free expression.

　　NBA总裁亚当·肖华在火箭队和猛龙队在日本打季前赛开赛前发表讲话，承认了此事的严重性，但同时表示联盟支持莫雷言论自由的权利。

　　Now, about 200 NBA employees work in China in offices in Beijing and Shanghai. Games arestreamed live and Chinese media cover all the league's biggest events such as All-Star weekendand the NBA Finals. The league has played preseason games there for years, has three NBAacademies in the country — designed to find the next star prospect — and big-name players gothere every offseason to promote their brand.

　　如今，有大约200名NBA员工在北京和上海的办公室工作，nba的球赛都是现场直播的，中国的媒体会报道nba所有重大赛事，比如全明星周末和nba总决赛。nba也在中国打了很多年的季前赛，在中国设立了三个NBA训练营---旨在寻找明日之星。那些大牌球员也会在休赛期来到中国宣传他们代言的品牌。

　　Retired Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has a lifetime contract with Chinese apparel companyLi-Ning. Golden State guard Klay Thompson has a 10-year deal with another Chinese shoecompany, Anta. Five-time champion Kobe Bryant has been visiting China annually for abouttwo decades and is a massive star there, even now that his playing career is done.

　　迈阿密热火队退役后卫韦德与中国李宁公司签订了一份终身合同。金州勇士队后卫克雷.汤普森与另一家中国运动鞋企业安踏签有10年的合同。五届nba总冠军得主科比·布莱恩特在过去20年里每年都会访问中国，即使现在他的职业生涯已经结束，他仍然是中国的巨星。

　　The league has navigated its way around one thorny issue related to the U.S. and China inrecent months: a trade war between the nations that includes back-and-forth tariffs. The HongKong tweet, though, is likely to present a much bigger test for the NBA.

　　近几个月来，nba联盟绕开了一个与美国和中国面临的棘手问题:两国之间的贸易战，其中包括来回征收关税。不过，关于香港问题发布的这条推文可能会给NBA带来更大的考验。